The Church of not-so like mindedness...

So often, not only in our American context, but throughout the world, we identify the church by an individual congregation. As I was praying this morning, I really felt the Lord speaking to me. I have been praying for unity amongst the church, that as our brothers and sisters suffer in Kenya, that we would suffer with them – that we would stand in the gap on their behalf, pray with them, fast with them, etc. My prayers have been that we would be unified as one body, that we would not be defined by the borders of the nation we live in, but rather be defined by our identity in Christ.

This has continued to be my prayer, but today as I prayed, I sensed I needed to go deeper. As I continued to pray for the church globally, I began feeling God put new thoughts in my head and words on my tongue. As I prayed, I began thinking about the persecuted church in Laos, I thought about persecuted Christians in Muslim nations, I thought about the church in Argentina, in Europe and here in the United States.

God placed Jesus on my mind – specifically Jesus on the cross. He began to remind me of what that image represents – it represents my brokenness made whole. It represents the fact that I myself can do nothing to change the way I am. I cannot restore the broken parts of me, I cannot make adequate the inadequacies in me. I cannot forgive myself and wash away my sins. As an individual, without God, I compartmentalize everything. My fallen nature means that not everything is united and connected. I am broken by the circumstances in which I live, by the person I choose to be. There becomes a disconnect between aspects of my life. There are cracks in my being that I cannot fill.

It is because of Christ that I can be made whole. It is because of Christ that I, as an individual, don’t have to compartmentalize my whole life. It is because of Christ that there can be unity in who I am and what I represent.

I say all of this because God put this on my heart as I thought and prayed for the global church. As the church, God has called us to be one body, yet we have separated ourselves. We have decided to use our human terms to define the church. We have made decisions that have brought division. I say this not only thinking – Protestant and Catholic, but how many denominations are there?

That is simply one example. As I thought of the global church, I found it interesting that we have not only defined ourselves by denomination, but also by geography. How many of us know about what is going on in the church around the world?

If we are truly one body, as followers of Christ, then why have we defined ourselves as many different bodies, from many different places, that really don’t need to relate a whole lot, other than on a casual or philanthropic (geographically) level? I see the church as disregarding the Gospel. We have ignored the fact that the Gospel brought unity: that as Christians, we are not defined by where we live, or what denomination we belong to, rather we are defined by the fact that we are loved, and love Jesus Christ.

Just as the Cross was meant for us individually, to restore us and bring unity to our beings and fill in the cracks, the same is true for the church. We are acting like a broken vessel, we are not unified as one body. We rarely stand united as one body with one another. How often do we, in the United States, consult our brothers and sisters in Africa or Asia on the scriptures and spirituality. Instead we go help the poor people. Don’t get me wrong a focus of the Gospel is helping the poor, but so is unity amongst the body – which makes us more effective in helping the poor. The diversity of the cultures which we come from around the world, as the body of Christ, brings the necessary perspectives which help us to understand the call for our lives that much better.

Christianity and the Church have become irrelevant in a lot of ways, because there is no unity. We are thousands of different groups from different places and are wavering because there are so many cracks between us. We as the body of Christ have not accepted what Jesus did on the cross. We have not accepted, as the church, the unifying nature of what the cross represents. We must, to be an effective agent of spiritual and social change around the world, and to simply live as God intended us to live, come together as the Global Body of Christ, and be unified with one voice (not ours, but his).

Do you sense the irony when you hear phrases like “United Methodist” or “United Church of Christ”? My prayer is that we will begin to come to a place where we are not defined by the borders that make up the nation where we happen to live, or by the divisive man made denomination, but rather as a unified body (the Global Church) defined by the Cross.

Kenya: Seeing what we want to?

Kenya has been going through some serious issues within the last month and a half, basically since the announcement of the Presidential Election results. There was alleged rigging, and now all of January and the first part of February have seen election-related and tribal violence break out in different parts of Kenya. A political stalemate has led to economic crisis for the whole of East Africa, as much of the shipments and imports for Uganda in particular comes through the port of Mombasa in Kenya. A number of different mediators came in and tried to help resolve the situation, but it continued to spiral out of control. The present count is at roughly 1,000 people killed and over 300,000 displaced from post election violence.

A team led by former UN-Secretary General, Kofi Annan began mediation talks, and brought the two groups together. Mwai Kibaki (the incumbent) of the PNU party, and Raila Odinga (the opposition) of the ODM party came together, and have been in talks for the last couple of weeks. A power sharing deal is in the midst of being approved by both sides. The violence has quieted for the most part within the last week, though there still seems to be an uneasiness in the country.

The damage has been done though. Kenya, known for its stability and economic growth in a very volatile region, has fallen from the graces of the western world. It's reputation has been tarnished internationally, and for those who don't know more than what they have seen in the news in the last month and a half, Kenya appears as an all too typical stereotype of post colonial Africa.

Unfortunately, not everyone knows the Kenya I know. They don't know the church in Kenya, and the way it is answering the call to the crisis at hand. They don't know the folks in Jangwani who carry on in the midst of violence and uncertainty. They don't know of the teachers, the pastor, the project managers who refuse to let violence and uncertainty keep them from providing food and education to children who otherwise would have no place to turn. They don't know my Kenyan family and friends who fast and pray daily for peace to come to their nation - for leadership to be led by God. They don't see the side of Kenya that still has potential, the side that uses it's resources so incredibly well. They see the minority committing heinous acts, lusting after power. We all have our ugly side. Every nation has it's downfall. Unfortunately, in Africa there is a magnifying glass on the radical and negative things that happen, and a world far removed from the positives and the people who inspire me to live my life differently.

2007 Kenya Children Project Review

Kenya Children Project 2007 Review

In 2007, a partnership between myself (Adam Gould), Life in Abundance International, and the Believers Centre Mathare Church created what is known as the Kenya Children Project. God’s hand in this partnership has been clear from the beginning as he has blessed the project with a great amount of progress in just one year. On top of that, we were $10,000 under our anticipated budget, which is a testament to those on the ground in Kenya using the resources well. I just want to highlight some of progress made in the first year, to keep you up to date…

We started the year with roughly 40 children in the school and ended with about 60. News of the good work spread throughout the community, and we got to a point where we could not take any more children in due to lack of space.

We were able to purchase 6 rooms surrounding the church and turned 4 of those rooms into classrooms, one into a kitchen and one into an office.

We started a feeding program for the children at the school. Each child received a cup of porridge in the morning, and rice, beans and greens at lunch, as well as fruit twice a week. This was provided 5 days a week, and we were able to do this for between roughly $6 per child, per month. The fruits and vegetables used in the lunch were purchased from mothers in our micro loan program.

We were able to purchase tables and benches for each of the classrooms, which were constructed by local carpenters, one of which was a father of one of our children. Desks and chairs were also purchase for each of our teachers. Each child also received a uniform.

We were able to hire 3 teachers who were with us for the whole year. In that time period they all have completed their teaching certification.

We have been able to put in a new toilet for the children to use, as well as. By the grace of God, purchase a water source inside the school.

We started our micro loan program with the children’s parents. The first group that received the initial loan, all paid back their loan in full. There have been stories of great success within the program - see Kevin’s Grandmother.

Out of an allotment for evangelism, a home based care program has emerged. Members of the Believers Centre have taken the initiative to be trained in home based care and have reached out to those suffering in the community, particularly those inflicted with HIV/AIDS.

As I have visited, there is a different feeling among the people in Jangwani – one of hope. The children look much healthier, and are full of energy and excited about their education.
2007 Expenses

Description
Year 1 Expense
1) $18,162 - School Costs (teacher salaries, construction, uniforms, feeding program, materials, tables and benches, water connection)
2) $11,113 - Staff Salaries and Administrative Costs
3) $2,126 - Micro loan Program
4) $946 - Evangelism

Total : $32,347



Micro loan program – Kevin’s Grandmother

Patricia Mwikali is one of the women in the micro loan program. She is 47 years old and has two daughters. Her first born daughter washes clothes which barely covers one meal. She is unable to pay rent or take care of other expenses, therefore her mother is forced to provide for her. Patricia is also taking care of her youngest daughter who is a junior in high school and her grandson, Kelvin, is enrolled in our school. Due to so much strain on Patricia, she enrolled in a merry go round financial program with several other women. They were able to save up a small amount of money, enough for each member to start a small business. Patricia began a small restaurant selling food to people in the Jangwani community. Because of the small amount of capital, the profit was not significant enough to provide for her family.Patricia looked elsewhere for help, and found out about he micro loan program through Kelvin’s school. She joined the program and was given a loan of 2000 Kenya Shillings, or roughly $30. This loan boosted her restaurant and she quickly began paying back the loan. She was given another loan and in August she rented a bigger room to expand the restaurant. Because of her success she was also able to purchase a larger room for her family to live in. Patricia received another loan and has also opened a small store where she sells vegetables. The store has been very successful and she has quickly been paying back her loan.Patricia’s spiritual life has changed as well. Whenever the women in the micro loan program meet, the project manager, Consolata, takes time to pray and share the word with them. In one of the meetings Patricia said, “I come from a community where people believe that when you want to learn a business you have to use witch craft. I didn’t know that God could open a door for me to get money from people who don’t even know me well, without using witchcraft. Now I believe that God is real.” Patricia is looking forward to paying off her most recent loan, and getting another one that will help her to continue expanding her business.

Thank you to those of you supporting the project through prayers as well as those supporting financially. God’s blessing and protection has been upon the KCP, and those of us involved are extremely grateful and in awe of what the Lord continues to do.